A Change of Fate
by SearingCinders
Summary: During the Siege of Ba Sing Se, Prince Lu Ten, son of Iroh, was captured. The Fire Nation believes that he is dead and he can't return, so he goes to the South Pole hoping to start over. He seeks refuge in the tribe and becomes the adopted son of Chief Hakoda and Kya, as well as an older brother to Sokka and Katara. How will Lu Ten's involvement change the war? Full summary inside.
1. I Can't Go Back

**Full Summary: During the Siege of Ba Sing Se, Prince Lu Ten, son of Prince Iroh, was captured. The Fire Nation believes that he is dead and he can't return, so he stows away on a ship headed for the South Pole. He seeks refuge in the tribe and becomes the adopted son of Chief Hakoda and Kya, as well as an older brother to Sokka and Katara. How will Lu Ten's involvement change the war? Will the Gaang still beat Firelord Ozai or will Lu Ten make their plans burn to dust?**

**A/N: Hey and welcome to my story "A Change of Fate". This is my second story on the site, my first being "We've Got a Lot to Learn" which is a Harry Potter story. My stories will really be a variety of games and books (Legend of Zelda, Hunger Games, Harvest Moon, ect...). Anyway enjoy the chapter and read the A/N at the bottom.**

***All Avatar: The Last Airbender characters, ideas, plots, ect… are the property of Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko.***

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Chapter 1: I Can't Go Back

There was a battle raging all around him. The Earth Kingdom militia of Ba Sing Se was stronger than the Fire Nation originally thought. The boulders flying at him were so fast it was getting increasingly more difficult to dodge them.

He had to act fast and think later. The soldiers behind him were having the same problems. They needed to pull back and regroup, before there could be anymore casualties. Right before he turned around to issue the retreat, a boulder hit him straight in the chest, knocking him back several feet. He heard his father yell his name before everything went black.

* * *

Lu Ten woke up in the back of a moving wagon. His chest hurt and his head was pounding. He tried to sit up, but found that he couldn't due to the shackles around his wrists and ankles, securing him to the floor which was, surprisingly, metal. Whoever captured him must know that they were dealing with a firebender.

His captors took all his armor, he was left in just some thin clothes. The inside of the wagon was pitch black and Lu Ten couldn't see anything. With a jolt, the wagon stopped and Lu Ten heard two sets of feet hit the ground outside.

"You think he's awake yet?" a male voice asked.

"How should I know? Why don't you go check." another, deeper, male voice responded.

Lu Ten heard one of the men start walking toward, what he guessed was, the back of the wagon. The man moved the tarp off the back and bright sunlight flashed into the wagon, making Lu Ten close his eyes. He tried to turn away from the light, but the shackles restrained his movement too much.

"Well what do you know? He's awake boss." The first voice called out.

"Finally, now we can have a little chat with him." The second man walked over to the opening and looked at Lu Ten, who was rapidly blinking his eyes, trying to get used to the sudden light. "I didn't believe myself when we managed to capture you, Prince Lu Ten of the Fire Nation." The second man, the leader, taunted.

"How do you know who I am?" Lu Ten asked. It defiantly wasn't the best thing he could have said, since he just confirmed the man's statement, but Lu Ten was having a hard time processing everything at the moment.

"I was the one who hit you with the boulder. I heard the Dragon of the West –" the man's voice was dripping with disgust when he said the title, "– call your name as you fell to the ground. My partner and I ran over to where your body was and checked to see if you were dead, but to my disappointment you were just unconscious. I knew that I could hold you for ransom so we moved you to our wagon and made a quick escape from the battlefield."

"Where are we?" Lu Ten yelled, regaining some of his sense now that he was more awake.

"Like I'd tell you. All you need to know is that now that you're awake, we're going to cause you unbelievable agony until our ransom is answered." the leader sneered. Lu Ten knew that the man wasn't joking. The leader turned to his partner and said, "Do what you want with him, just don't kill him." And with a laugh he walked away from the wagon.

"This will be fun." The second man said pulling out a roll of weapons from his coat. The man looked at his weapons and pulled out a knife, one with a long, jagged blade. He looked up at Lu Ten and smiled. "Let's get started, shall we."

Lu Ten tried to move away, but the restraints held him in place. The man took the knife and slowly made a long cut across the right side of his face. Blood started to flow from the wound and Lu Ten had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming. He would try his best to stay silent, but he didn't know how long he would be able to.

The man once again held the knife to his face, cutting just above Lu Ten's left eye. Then the man moved down to his arms. He put the knife at the bottom of his right shoulder and made a long cut down to his elbow, ripping through the sleeves of the shirt. The man did the same to his left arm.

"Can't cut any lower on your arms or you'll bleed to death, how about the legs." he asked with a cruel smile on his face. The knife once again pierced Lu Ten's skin as it was dragged down his legs. Against his will, Lu Ten let out a scream he had been holding in. "That's better." the man taunted. "Let it all out, I want to hear your pain."

There was blood all over Lu Ten now. It was running down his face, arms and legs, but it wasn't fast enough to hope that he would bleed out and be done with this torture. "We'll be done for now, but I'll be back for some more fun later." the man sneered at Lu Ten, the he let out a laugh and walked away.

Lu Ten was already weak from being unconscious for who knows how long, but now, with blood loss, it was all he could do to stay awake. Eventually, fatigue won over and Lu Ten fell into a dreamless sleep.

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The torture continued the next day. Lu Ten didn't even try to hide his pain anymore, it was just too much. The Fire Nation didn't answer the ransom, so Lu Ten was stuck with these men. Weeks went by, the same man tortured him in new ways every day. Burns, bruises, and welts joined the cuts he had received from the first day.

Lu Ten had given up on the ransom being answered and just took the punishment, hoping that one day the man would go overboard and kill him. The leader didn't join in on the torture, he just made sure that Lu Ten was still alive at the end of each session.

About three weeks went by like this. Lu Ten heard the crunching of boots on the ground and knew that his torturer was coming for the day, but the he heard the leader call out. "The Fire Nation obviously doesn't care for their prince. We have nothing to gain from keeping him around anymore. Take the shackles off and leave him in the forest to die. He won't survive on his own."

The man followed his orders immediately. Being released from the restraints just brought more agony to Lu Ten's body. The man who had become his torturer dropped him on the ground, not to nicely and gave a kick to his stomach then walked away laughing.

Before they got too far away he heard one of the men call, "Have fun with the rest of your life." This caused another round of laughing. Eventually the voices faded and there was silence except for the sounds of the forest. Lu Ten was too weak to move, let alone try to stand up.

'_This is it. This is how I'll die.'_ He thought as he drifted into unconsciousness once again.

* * *

Lu Ten woke up on something soft. It hurt to move, but not as much as usual. _'Didn't think there was pain in the spirit world.' _He thought as he opened his eyes. The first thing he realized was that he wasn't in the spirit world and was, in fact, still alive. The next thing he noticed was that he was in a house of some sort, lying down on a bed in the corner of the room.

His right arm was in a sling across his chest and his left arm was bandaged, lying at his side. His legs were also bandaged from the knee down and there was some sort of medicine on his face.

Lu Ten finally noticed the woman. She was medium height and had long black hair, wrapped into a bun on top of her head. The style and color of her clothes showed that she was earth kingdom. Her dress was full length down to her heels and was tan with swirls of green and gold on it.

She was working over a fire, stirring something in the pot on top. Lu Ten tried to sit up, but ended up just making a painful groaning sound. This alerted the woman to his now conscious state.

"Oh! You're finally awake. I was wondering if you would ever get up. Don't try to sit up, your body is still in bad condition." The woman said, running over to his side.

"Where am I?" Lu Ten asked, highly aware that he was in another unknown location.

"This is my home town, Fisher's Creek. I found you all beat up in the woods and brought you back here. You were in such a bad condition I was almost worried that I wouldn't be able to help you. You've been out for four days." She said all of this really fast. "How rude of me for not introducing myself. I'm Ming."

"Thank you madam, I'm L…" Lu Ten was about to say his name, but then realized it was very obviously a fire nation name. "Lee, my name is Lee." It was the first name that came to Lu Ten's mind. He had heard an earth bender shout the name during the confusion of the battle.

"It's very nice to meet you. Let me check up on those injuries. Can you tell me how you got all of them?" Ming said, starting to unwrap the bandage around his leg.

The memories of his tortures flashed through his mind. His face went white and all he could see was the large man coming at him with a knife.

Ming must of saw his distress and quickly said, "If it's too uncomfortable for you than don't worry. I was just curious."

Her words snapped Lu Ten out of his memories and back to the present. Very softly he whispered, "Torture."

Ming gasped and immediately knew why he didn't want to talk. It probably brought back horrible memories. "Oh my. I didn't realize. I thought you were in an accident." Just then a little girl and an older man walked through the door. The girl ran up to Ming and hugged her around the waist.

"He finally woke up?" the man said, his voice had a districted accent, but Lu Ten couldn't tell from where. "My wife has been caring for you for a while now. I honestly didn't think you'd wake up at all, but it's good to see you're recovering."

"Mommy! Can I go back out?" the little girl whined.

"Yes, yes. Go enjoy the celebration." Ming said giving her a nudge toward the door. The girl took off like a firework. "Aden, can you come watch over him?" she asked, gesturing toward Lu Ten. "I need to finish dinner."

"I'll watch him, can he get up?" the man, Aden, inquired.

"No, not yet. Keep him leaning back and don't let him move too much."

Aden walked over to where, Lu Ten was sitting up on the bed. "So, what's your story, foreigner?"

"My name is Lee." Now Lu Ten had to think of a believable story that he could tell the people without giving away his true identity. "I lived in a small farming town, near –" What were some of the Earth Kingdom towns that his father had taught him about? "–Gaoling. We were attacked by an earth bender gang. They were destroying everything. One of the rocks hit me in the chest and I was knocked out."

From here on, Lu Ten could pretty much tell the whole truth, omitting some parts, like his bending and the ransom. "When I woke up I was chained in the back of a wagon. I had been kidnapped by two of the men. They tortured me daily, the pain was horrible. I was with them for a few weeks, before they left me on the side of the road, near the forest to die. I'm guessing that you found me and helped me in which I'm very grateful."

Aden had a shocked look on his face, but Lu Ten could clearly hear Ming crying near the fire. "You had it rough. You can stay here as long as you like, at least until your injuries are done healing." Aden said.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but I don't want to be a burden." Lu Ten responded.

"You won't be, besides after you heal you can help me do some jobs around town to make it up to us." Aden said, adding a wink at the end.

Lu Ten was surprised by this family's willingness to help him. They don't even really know him, they know the fake name and story that he told them. Trying to change the subject, Lu Ten cleared his throat and said, "You mentioned a celebration earlier. What about?"

"We just got word yesterday about our victory over the fire nation. We defeated them at Ba Sing Se." Ming replied. "They say we also managed to kill a member of the royal family during the battle."

Aden went over to his wife and spun her around. "Yes, we celebrate to the victory in battle and to the death of the fire nation prince, Lu Ten." He cheered.

Lu Ten's face, which was already white from the strain of moving with his injuries, paled even further at the news. _'Not only did the fire nation lose at the siege of Ba Sing Se, but they think that I was killed? That explains why they didn't answer the ransom, they must've thought I was already dead.'_

On the outside, Lu Ten forced his face to form a smile. He had to pretend that this news was great, seeing as he said he was from an earth kingdom village. Ming looked toward Lu Ten and smiled, "This victory will lead us on in this war." She exclaimed.

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For the next two months, Lu Ten stayed with Ming and Aden. His injuries healed rather fast now that he wasn't getting further injured every day. He had a couple scars, but those would fade in time.

As soon as Ming deemed him healed enough, Lu Ten started working with Aden, helping with some repairs and construction to the buildings. The little girl he saw on his first day was their daughter, Lan, and she would try to help her father as well. The girl was always full of energy, running around like crazy, so she never really got any work done herself. It was hard for her parents to keep up with her, but Lu Ten did it without problems.

His predicament with the fire nation was pushed to the back of his mind during the day, but at night it would keep him up for hours, making him wonder what to do.

Tomorrow, Lu Ten was finally leaving the small town of Fisher's Creek. He told Ming and Aden that he needed to move on and find a new place to live, and while they tried to protest, he wouldn't listen. Eventually they let it go, knowing that they couldn't stop him. Instead they turned towards helping Lu Ten prepare for his trip.

Ming made an excess amount of food that would last for a couple of weeks. Aden turned to teaching Lu Ten how to defend himself, which he already knew, but pretended he didn't to keep to his story.

The day of his departure came. Ming packed him a knapsack of food and some medicines, Lu Ten refused any money she tried to give him, saying he would be fine. Aden came up with a cloth wrapped bulk in his hands. "Take this with you. I'm sure you'll find more use for it then I will here." He said, unwrapping the bulk.

Inside the cloth cover was a long sword. It was inside it's sheath and by the looks of it, had never been used. Lu Ten took the sword from Aden and pulled out the blade. It was sharp and shiny, like a brand new sword, straight from the forge, would look.

Lu Ten re-sheathed the blade and tied it around his belt. He knew that Aden would not take no for an answer, so instead he pulled the older man into a hug. After a couple of seconds, Lu Ten released Aden and did the same for Ming. "Thank you for everything, I hope our paths will cross again in the future."

"Count on it. If anything you will have to visit. I'll hold you up to it." Aden said, clapping his hand down on Lu Ten's shoulder.

Lu Ten smiled to the couple then turned around to walk away.

"Goodbye, Lee. May we see you again in the near future." Ming called to his retreating back. Lu Ten turned and waved once more before continuing his way up the path, out of the village.

'_Now to figure out where to go from here. The fire nation thinks I'm dead, that's clear enough, or else they would've paid the ransom, so I can't go back there. I need to find a place that I can start over at, without people judging me for my past.'_ Lu Ten was thinking over his options, just walking down the worn down dirt path. After a couple of hours, he can across a small port village.

'_I can check out the boats, see where they're going. Maybe one will be a good place to go.' _He thought as he walked down towards the docks. Most of the ships were patrols, stopping to restock. Those wouldn't help him at all.

Lu Ten turned around to head back into the village when he heard a voice call out. It wasn't directed at him, but he listened in.

"Get those boxes loaded up, we are on a schedule here and we can't run late. Got to get this cargo to the South Pole. I want to get this delivery over with, I can't stand the cold, so move your lazy butts and get finished with the loading." the voice exclaimed.

'_The South Pole? Sounds remote enough to keep away from my past. I'd have to get used to the cold, being a firebender, but it might just be the place I've been looking for. There's no harm in checking it out. If it doesn't work out I can always leave for somewhere else.'_ Lu Ten thought as he approached the man, who he assumed was the captain of the ship.

"Excuse me sir." Lu Ten called out.

"What do you want, I'm on a schedule here." The captain said, the annoyance in his tone was very clear.

"I was wondering if you would accept me as a passenger on your ship. I'm – " What was he going to say? That he was the dead fire nation prince and was going to the South Pole to live there? " – trying to visit my relatives. They live at the South Pole and I can't find anyone to take me." That sounded believable enough.

"I don't care, but we leave in ten minutes and we aren't going to feed you. The trip will only be a day, but you'll have to have your own food and stay out of the way of my crew." The man replied, gruffly.

"Thank you sir." Lu Ten said. He still had the food that Ming had packed for him, so he stepped up on the boat. It was small, but he found a small corner in the cargo hold that he could stay in until the ship arrived.

The captain called for the boat to start moving and soon it was sailing across the ocean. With the soft sound of the waves beating against the ship, Lu Ten fell asleep.

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**A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this, it WILL be continued (I already have the first couple of chapters). Please review, thoughts, grammar mistakes, spelling errors, even ideas for later chapters, though I do know the general direction that this is going to take. Ming, Aden, and Lan will come back later in the story. If you can guess who they are, kudos to you. See you all next time.**


	2. A New Life, A New Family

**A/N: ****Chapter 2 is up. All of the OCs in this story will be Chinese and when a new character is introduced in will have the pronunciation and translation.**

**Enjoy.**

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Chapter 2: A New Life, A New Family

True to the captain's word, the ship arrived at the South Pole the next day. Lu Ten thanked the captain for the ride and jumped off the ship, landing in about three inches of snow. Right in front of him was the southern water tribe. It was smaller than he expected, but that just makes it a better place to be.

Lu Ten used his fire bending to keep warm and started heading towards the village. The houses were made of snow and frozen over with ice, to keep the structures from collapsing. There were only about two dozen people out and walking around, though that was probably the population of who lived here anyway.

The first thing Lu Ten needed to do was talk to the village's chief. He would tell the chief who he really was and ask for citizenship in the small village. If he was going to live here he didn't want to keep any secrets.

A young woman with a basket full of food walked passed. She couldn't have been any older than he was. She had long light brown hair and light blue eyes. She was wearing a blue dress and a parka over top. To Lu Ten, she was very beautiful. He called out to her. "Excuse me, miss. Can you tell me where I could find the village chief?" he asked.

The woman looked at him and gave a quiet chuckle. "You're new here aren't you? You must be freezing. Come to my house and I'll let you borrow a parka, then I'll take you to Chief Hakoda." She said, gesturing for him to follow.

"Thank you miss." Lu Ten said, following her.

"Oh, my name is Ziyou (Zye-yo, Liberty). And what's your name?" she asked.

"Lu Ten." he replied. Ziyou looked like she was having a hard time with her basket so Lu Ten took it out of her hands. "Let me take that. I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let the beautiful young lady carry the basket herself." He said, giving her a bright smile and lifting the basket onto his shoulder.

Ziyou giggled in her hand and then looked up at him with a smile of her own. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Soon enough they arrived at Ziyou's house. It was a small one room house and when Lu Ten entered he saw that she used sheets to divide her bedroom from the rest of her house. "You can set the basket down on the table. I'll go get a parka for you." Ziyou said, pointing to the table she was talking about and going behind the sheet to her room.

Lu Ten set the basket down and then sat down on one of the chairs, waiting for Ziyou to return. She came back through the curtain with an extra parka in her hands. She handed it to Lu Ten, who immediately put it on. "Thanks, I was getting pretty cold." Lu Ten said, giving her another smile.

"Do you want to see the chief now?" Ziyou asked, smiling herself.

"Yeah, could you lead me?" Lu Ten replied.

"Of course, I wouldn't be a lady if I let the handsome gentleman get lost now would I?" she said, giving Lu Ten a sly smile.

Lu Ten laughed at Ziyou's words and got up to follow her to the chief. Ziyou led Lu Ten to a larger house at the head of the village. "This is where Chief Hakoda and his family lives." she said, gesturing to the house. "I hope to see you around, Lu Ten." Ziyou turned to go back to her house, but Lu Ten grabbed her hand and spun her back toward him. He kissed her cheek and she laughed, putting her hand in front of her face to hide her blush before leaving.

"I'll see you around Ziyou." He called to her before entering the chief's house. The main room was large, but sparsely furnished. There was a woman sweeping the floor with a twig broom standing in the middle. She had medium length, dark brown hair. Two strands were pulled to the front and hung like loops in front of her face.

She looked up when she heard him enter. "Hello there, can I help you?" she asked, putting the broom in the corner and standing before Lu Ten.

"I would like to speak with chief Hakoda please." Lu Ten asked.

"Of course." She walked over to the entrance to another room and poked her head inside. "Hakoda, there's a man here to see you."

"Coming." The man who came out of the doorway was tall and had dark brown hair, like the woman. His was short and he had a small beard growing on his chin. He looked over towards Lu Ten and gestured for him to follow him into the room. This room was clearly an office. There was a desk, cluttered with papers, and a couple of comfy looking chairs. "Please sit down."

"Thank you sir." Lu Ten said, sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the desk.

"What brings you here today." Hakoda asked sitting, not in the chair behind the desk, but in the one right next to Lu Ten's. The woman came in and sat down next to Hakoda.

"I was wonder if you would grant me residency in the village." Lu Ten asked.

"Why? Don't you have a home elsewhere?" the woman replied.

"Calm, Kya. Let the man tell his story." Hakoda said.

"I'll tell you my story, but I would like it if you don't interrupt until I'm finished. There are some things that you won't like and some things that are hard for me to recount, but I just want to get it all over with." Lu Ten explained.

"Go ahead." Hakoda said, gesturing Lu Ten to continue.

Lu Ten took a deep breath and started. "My name is Lu Ten, I was the prince of the fire nation." Hakoda's eyes hardened, but he didn't speak out. "I was stationed with my father at the front assault during the siege of Ba Sing Se. My troops were falling and I was going to order a retreat, but before I could I was hit in the chest with a boulder and knocked unconscious."

"When I woke up I was restrained in the back of a wagon. Two earth kingdom men had captured me and sent out a ransom for my return. Every day one of the men would come and torture me. This went on for about three weeks. The ransom was never answered and the men gave up so they left me to die at the edge of a forest. Again, I passed out."

"This time when I woke up, I was lying in a bed and my injuries were bandaged. An earth kingdom woman had found me and brought me to her house to help me. I stayed with her and her husband for two months, healing and eventually helping out around town. I didn't tell them who I really was and they told me that the fire nation lost at Ba Sing Se. They also said that the earth kingdom's army was able to kill a member of the fire nation's royal family… that they were able to kill me. Just yesterday, I left her home town."

"I knew I couldn't go back to the fire nation. They thought I was dead or else they would've answered the ransom, so I decided to try and find somewhere remote where I could start over. I got passage onto a cargo ship headed here, to the south pole and came to you, seeking refuge and citizenship." Lu Ten sighed and looked up towards Hakoda and Kya.

Kya got up and wrapped Lu Ten into a hug. "You poor boy. You can't be more than eighteen and you've had such suffering."

"I'm sixteen ma'am." Lu Ten replied.

"Hakoda, we can't turn him away. Please." Kya said, turning towards her husband.

"I understand Kya, but where will he stay?" Hakoda replied with a questioning voice.

Kya thought about that for a moment before her face lit up. "He can stay with us Hakoda. We can adopt him into our family. I would love to have another son, we could both use the extra help, and Sokka and Katara would love to have an older brother. He can have our spare bedroom." Kya explained.

"Adopted?" Lu Ten asked.

Kya turned to him and said, "Yes, if you would like that. Even if you are…lost to your real family, you will still have us, even if you are not ours by blood."

A genuine smile broke out on Lu Ten's face. "I would love it. Thank you so much Kya."

"What do you say Hakoda?" Kya asked her husband.

"I think it will work out." Hakoda said, clapping Lu Ten on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much, sir."

"Call me Hakoda, or even father if you want."

"Thank you." Lu Ten said.

"I'll introduce you to Sokka and Katara. Then I'll take you to your room." Kya said, standing up and turning to the doorway.

Lu Ten followed her out the room and into another. In side were two children. One was a boy, probably about four years old. He had short, brown hair pulled into a ponytail on top of his head. He was playing with a small boomerang and was holding a club in his other hand.

The other child was a girl, no more than two years old. She had dark brown hair in the same style as Kya's and was playing with a little doll.

"Lu Ten this is Sokka and Katara, you're siblings." Kya said, pointing to each child respectively.

Sokka got up and walked over to them. "Mommy who is he."

"This is Lu Ten, he's going to be your big brother." Sokka smiled and pulled Lu Ten over to his toys.

"This is my boomerang. Daddy made it for me and I'm going to be a great warrior like him one day. Will you help me?" Sokka said.

"Of course I'll help, Sokka. Your mommy is going to take me to my room now, so I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Kya led him out of the room and into yet another. This one had a bed and a wardrobe on one side and a bookshelf and coach on the other.

"This will be your room. I'll take your measurements and make you some clothes. Till then you can borrow some of Hakoda's. Why don't you get settled, maybe walk around the village and introduce yourself. I'll be back later." Kya said, walking out of the room.

Lu Ten decided to go see Ziyou, to tell her the good news, so he left the house and walked to where he remembered her house was. When he arrived he knocked on the side of the doorway and waited for her to come. The tarp over the entrance opened up and Ziyou stepped out.

"Lu Ten. Come in and you can tell me about your talk with the chief." Lu Ten sat down at the same chair as earlier. Ziyou sat next to him and looked expectantly.

Lu Ten decided to have some fun so he sighed and dropped his head, looking upset. "The chief said…" He let out another fake sigh.

"Don't tell me he said you couldn't stay. You're not leaving are you Lu Ten?"

"He said…" Then Lu Ten raised his head with a smile. "I can stay. Chief Hakoda and Kya have adopted me and I'll be living with them."

"Lu Ten! Don't scare me like that, I thought you were leaving." She exclaimed, giving him a glare.

"I was just playing Ziyou." He said, kissing her cheek once again.

Ziyou blushed, but couldn't hide it fast enough. Lu Ten smiled and raised his eyebrows. She swatted him again and he just laughed.

"You're blush is cute." Lu Ten said between laughs.

By now Ziyou was laughing as well. "Stop it."

"How about I take you out for lunch some time." Lu Ten asked.

"If that's your way of asking me out, then yes, I would love to." Ziyou said, smiling at Lu Ten.

"I will pick you up tomorrow at dusk." He kissed her on the cheek and left, heading back to his new house. Things were definitely looking up.

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**A/N: Hey, this is the real chapter 2. I'm not sure why my experiment Ch. 2 went up, but I fixed it because I'm sure many readers were confused. Sorry for the mix up. **

******If you have suggestions or comments for the story, I love to hear opinions on my writing. Chapter 3 will be up soon, but after that the chapters will come slower as I still have to write them. These first three were already written. I will try my best to get in a chapter AT LEAST every month because I have other stories and school, so please be patient and hang in there. ****Thanks for reading and please keep reviewing.**


	3. A Wedding and A Funeral

**A/N: Here is chapter three of "A Change of Fate". In answer ****to ****Atarah Derek****'s review of last chapter: Yes, Hakoda did take in Lu Ten really fast, but this is also before Kya was killed by the fire nation so he probably doesn't have as much of a grudge with them as he does in the cartoon. As for Lu Ten already flirting with the tribe's women, I figured that Iroh did it a lot in the series and Lu Ten would probably be just like his father in that aspect. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

***All Avatar: The Last Airbender characters, ideas, plots, ect… are the property of Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko.***

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Chapter 3: A Wedding and A Funeral

Four years. That's how long it has been since Lu Ten came to the South Pole. Hakoda and Kya have treated him as one of their own. They told the village that he was just a fire nation solider run-away. Everyone had their doubts, but they accepted him eventually. Lu Ten didn't think that they would've ever accepted him if they knew the whole truth.

Lu Ten and Ziyou's relationship had only become stronger. He had told Ziyou who he really was and she, surprisingly, didn't mind. They have been dating since his first week in the village. Today, Lu Ten was going to propose to her.

He had told Hakoda of his decision and Hakoda was very proud. He taught Lu Ten how to carve a betrothal necklace. The design Lu Ten picked was a combination of the fire nation's insignia and the water tribe's symbol. It was a flame surrounded by waves. It took him weeks to make and now that it was finished he was ready.

Lu Ten woke up earlier than usual and went to the kitchen to get food for a picnic. He walked in to find his adopted mother, Kya, already in there working. "Thought you'd like a little lunch. Good luck today." she said, handing him a picnic basket and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You may not be mine by blood but I am still so proud of you."

"Thank you, for everything." Lu Ten said, heading out the door of the house. He walked to Ziyou's house and walked in without knocking, they were so used to each other that they didn't need to anymore. Ziyou was up and ready for their date, all Lu Ten had told her is that he's taking her somewhere special. Lu Ten snuck up behind her and grabbed her waist, flipping her body over his shoulder.

Ziyou gasped and started beating her fists on his back. "Lu Ten, you put me down right now." Lu Ten sat her back on the ground and she smacked him in the arm before pulling him in for a kiss. He met her half-way and they just stood there, lost in the embrace until Lu Ten pulled away. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be." She replied with a smirk. Lu Ten grabbed her hand and led her out of the village. He took her to a spot he had found while hunting a couple of weeks ago. It was and ice burg with a frozen waterfall, suspended in the air. The sunlight shined off the ice, making everything sparkle.

"Lu Ten, it's beautiful." Ziyou said, walking up and putting her hand on the frozen water.

"Not as beautiful as you." Lu Ten replied, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her to where he had set up the picnic. Ziyou blushed and looked away. _'I should be used to his flirting by now.'_ She thought.

The couple just sat and talked for a few hours before Lu Ten decided to make his move. He grabbed Ziyou's hand and led her to the base of the frozen waterfall. There he got down on one knee and looked up into her blue eyes.

"Ziyou, I've known you since the first day I came to the village, you were the first person I talked to. The minute I saw you I knew that you were a special girl. On our first date, I told you my full story, and I thought you would turn and walk away, wanting nothing to do with me, but that wasn't the case. Instead you kissed me and told me that you don't care about my past. You have made me the happiest I've ever been in the four years that we have been together, so now I want to ask you a very important question.

Ziyou, I love you, will you marry me." Lu Ten had pulled out the necklace and held it out to her.

Ziyou wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, yes. I will marry you Lu Ten." She exclaimed. Lu Ten stood up and secured the necklace around her neck, then leaned in to kiss her. They stayed at the waterfall for a while before packing up the picnic and heading back to the village.

Lu Ten and Ziyou entered the village, his arm around her waist, which wasn't anything new. The whole village knew they were together, it's not like they were trying to keep it a secret. The difference is that now a carved stone sat around Ziyou's neck. As they were walking through the small market they heard a gasp. Kanna, Hakoda's mother, also one of the village elders, came over and hugged both of them. "Congratulations! I was wonder when you were going to ask her Lu Ten."

This caused everyone to stop what they were doing and look toward the couple and sure enough they saw the necklace that Lu Ten had carved. The rest of the walk home included many well-wishers stopping to look at Ziyou's necklace and say congratulations. Eventually, the couple got to Lu Ten's house and slipped inside to get away from the excited villagers.

Kya was waiting for them and got up to embrace, first her son, then her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. "I'm so happy for both of you, when to do you want to have the ceremony?" she asked, smiling at the young adults.

Lu Ten looked down at Ziyou, "How about two weeks." Ziyou nodded and kissed Lu Ten again before being dragged off by Kya to discuss the details.

"Lu Ten, come here for a minute." Hakoda called out from his office.

Lu Ten walked into the office and sat down. "What do you need father, I probably have to go rescue Ziyou from mom in a little."

Hakoda chuckled and then put on a serious face. "You have been my son for four years. By our laws you are going to be the next southern water tribe chief despite the fact that you aren't mine by blood. The title is normally passed down when the chief's son gets married. Do you accept?"

"Father, will the tribe allow a fire bender as their chief?" Lu Ten asked.

"I discussed this with the village elders while you were out with Ziyou this morning. They agree that you would be the right choice, despite your past."

"Then, if the village accepts me, I would be honored. Thank you father." He said getting up to embrace his second father.

"I will be teaching you what to expect as chief during the time before the ceremony. I know you'll do great things for the village." Hakoda said.

"I think I'll definitely be well prepared, I grew up being told that I would one day be fire lord, I don't think chief will be much different." Lu Ten replied, smiling.

Hakoda laughed and clapped Lu Ten on the shoulder. "You might want to go save your fiancé now."

Lu Ten nodded and left the office, heading for Kya's sewing room. He walked in to see Ziyou holding up different fabrics, choosing one for her gown. "Mom, I'm going to take Ziyou now. We'll be back later." He said, grabbing Ziyou's hand and pulling her out of the room.

"Thanks, Kya sure is excited." Lu Ten laughed.

"We haven't even told Sokka and Katara yet."

"Tell us what?" Sokka, only eight years old said, walking into the room followed by his six year old sister.

"I'm going to marry Ziyou." Lu Ten told the young boy.

"Yes, that means Ziyou will be my sister, right Lu Ten?" Katara sqealed.

"Yes, that's what it means." Lu Ten said chuckling as Katara wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm going to take Ziyou back to her house, okay. Katara, why don't you go help mom with something." Katara ran off laughing and Lu Ten pulled Ziyou to her house.

"I love you." Lu Ten said when they reached her doorway.

"I love you too, Lu Ten." She replied giving him a kiss and walking inside her house.

* * *

The next two weeks passed by in a blur. Lu Ten was constantly with Hakoda, learning the duties of being chief. Just as he expected, the basics of being chief were close to what he was learning in the fire nation to become fire lord. Meanwhile, Ziyou was with Kya, getting her gown ready.

Eventually the day of the ceremony came. Hakoda woke Lu Ten up and told him to get ready. Then he helped his son put his hair up into the traditional warrior's wolf tail. They walked to the center of town, where the ceremony would take place and they waited for Kya to show up with Ziyou.

Lu Ten took his place up front and the music, drums and a harp, started to play. Ziyou walked down to Lu Ten, smiling the whole time. Lu Ten could get over how beautiful she looked. Kya had outdone herself with the gown. When Ziyou reached Lu Ten he took her hand and helped her up onto the raised platform.

Kanna, as the oldest member of the tribe, was presiding over the ceremony. Normally it would be Hakoda, but seeing as it was his son getting married, the elders decided that Kanna would do it instead. She lifted their hands and tied a blue sash around it. "The spirit of the moon." she called. Then she tied a silver sash around their hands. "The spirit of the ocean."

Kanna looked at the couple and started. "We ask for the spirits' blessings upon these two people as they start a new life. Lu Ten, son of Chief Hakoda. I ask you today if you stand here of your own free will to be with this woman now and forever."

Lu Ten looked into Ziyou's eyes. "Now and forever I will hold her in my arms." Lu Ten recited, as Hakoda told him earlier.

Kanna then turned to Ziyou. "Ziyou, daughter of Zhanshi (Zan-she, Warrior), now passed. I ask you today if you stand here of your own free will to be with this man now and forever."

"Now and forever I will hold him in my heart." She recited.

"With the blessings of the spirits, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Kanna finished. Lu Ten pulled Ziyou to him and kissed her. The crowd cheered and clapped for the new couple.

Lu Ten held Ziyou's hand as he led her to the head of the banquet, a single table, just for them. Everyone else followed and soon enough, everyone was eating and talking. Lu Ten and Ziyou got many wedding gifts and congratulations.

About an hour after the banquet started, Hakoda stood up. He walked up to the front and called the crowd to quiet down. All talking ceased as they looked at their chief. Hakoda turned around and gestured for Lu Ten to join him. Ziyou was just as confused as everyone else.

"Today we not only celebrate the union of my eldest son. As tradition, I am officially passing my title to Lu Ten. Starting now, he is the chief of the southern water tribe." Hakoda announced. Everyone started cheering for Lu Ten. Ziyou came up to kiss him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"You and your surprises. No more secrets." She scolded playfully.

"But that takes the fun out of everything." Lu Ten pouted playfully. "We are going to add some more rooms to your home for my family to live in and then you are going to move into my house, since I am chief now." He said, grinning.

"That house is huge, surely we don't need it all." She exclaimed.

"We won't, but our children will. I hope to have a large family." He replied.

Ziyou blushed at his tone of voice, but understood what he was asking. "I'd love to have children, Lu Ten, and I wouldn't want anyone but you to be the father."

"I won't let anyone else touch you. As of today, you are mine." he said, grabbing her hand and leading her to their home. When they got to the bedroom Lu Ten covered the door and kissed her…

* * *

A few weeks later, Ziyou woke up feeling sick. She didn't get sick easily so she told Lu Ten that she was going to see the village healer. Lu Ten was busy with his duties as chief and couldn't come with her, but he kissed her goodbye.

Ziyou's trip didn't take long and she came back with a smile on her face. Lu Ten looked up from his work. "I'm guessing you're not sick. I've never met a person who was happy to be sick." he said, grinning.

"Even better. Lu Ten, I'm pregnant." Lu Ten froze and then a smiled and got up to kiss his wife.

"We're going to have a child!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, Hakoda rushed in the house, his face covered with worry. "Lu Ten, come look outside." he called, rushing out as fast as he came in.

"What's going on?" Ziyou questioned.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good, go and wait in our bedroom. I'm not taking any chances with you or our child. Don't come out until I come for you." Ziyou nodded and walked to the bedroom.

Lu Ten then went outside and saw what made his father worry. There was black snow falling from the sky. "Father." Lu Ten called. "Get the warriors prepared for battle, it's a fire nation invasion. The soot from the ships is mixing with the snow."

There were a couple of warriors already standing with him. One of them, a man that the rest of the warriors nicknamed Guzhi (Coo-gee, Stubborn), stepped forward and glared at Lu Ten. "How do we know that you didn't summon them?" he asked angrily.

"I haven't seen or heard of anyone from the fire nation in four years. I cut my ties to them a long time ago. If I was going to call them here I would have done it in my first weeks, not four years later right after I got married." Lu Ten argued. "If anyone else has a problem with me, speak up now." He looked around at the group of men. No one made a sound. "Good now we probably have less then five minutes before the navy ship attacks…"

Just as he said the words the ship broke through the ice wall and nearly twenty soldiers came out of the hull. Lu Ten had a katana, made of tiger-seal bones, strapped to his side. He unsheathed it and got into a defensive position. He was going to try his best not to firebend during this raid. "Go get your weapons, I'll hold them back." He ran in the direction of the attacking soldier before any of them could protest.

The firebenders attacked head on, fueled by anger. That was one of the things he hated about his element. Most fire benders fueled their bending through hate. His biological father had taught him to bend like the ancient dragons, using fire as a life source rather than a destructive mass.

Lu Ten felt Hakoda move right behind him and both of them worked to pick off the soldiers, watching the other's back. Suddenly, Katara ran up to him. "Daddy, Lu Ten, you have to help mom. There's a strange man in our house." She called.

Hakoda called, "Kya!" at the same time that Lu Ten called out, "Mom!"

Both men ran off to the house, but what awaited them was not any good. Kya was lying, dead, on the floor. There was no sign of the man who did it except for a scorch mark on the wall. Hakoda dropped to his knees and cradled Kya's body against his. Lu Ten looked outside, but the fighting had stopped. The snow was no longer black and all the fire nation soldiers were gone. The warriors were moving around, helping their injured comrades and making sure everyone was alright.

"Kya!" Hakoda yelled. Everyone turned to the voice, but only saw Lu Ten standing there with his head down.

"Chief Lu Ten, what happened?" one of the warriors called.

"Kya was killed. My father is taking it hard and I don't know what to do. I feel empty…" Lu Ten trailed off.

"Go check on your wife. We'll take care of Hakoda." The warriors said, calling over to some of the other men. He clapped Lu Ten on the back in a gesture of comfort and entered the house.

Lu Ten turned and ran to his house. He went straight to the bedroom and told Ziyou she could come out. "Lu Ten what happened? I heard yelling."

Lu Ten bowed his head down. "It was a fire nation invasion. They killed Kya." He said before breaking down in tears. Ziyou led him over to their bed and had him sit down. She didn't say anything, but just help her husband while he mourned for his adoptive mother.

* * *

The funeral was held at the end of the week. Her casket was carefully made by the women of the village with symbols carved into the sides, describing the type of woman she was in life.

Lu Ten, as chief, led the funeral. He tried desperately to hold his tears in. "Kya was more than just my adoptive mother. She has a way to melt the coldest hearts and would always help others even if she doesn't benefit herself. She was taken too early in life, wretched from the warm embrace of those around her to the cold depths of the way in-between here and the spirit world. Let her find her peace." Lu Ten slowly closed her casket. "Kěnéng de fāngshì guòqù yǐndǎo nǐ de jīngshén, nǐ kěnéng yǒngyuǎn yě kàn bù dào téngtòng yǐwài de shìjiè, nǐ kàn qítā nàxiē kàojìn nǐ, zhídào nǐ néng zàicì jiàn dào tāmen. Ānxí." The words were the tribe's final way of giving rest to the dead and letting a spirit move onwards. The excitement of Ziyou's pregnancy was put on hold as Lu Ten and Hakoda mourned.

After the funeral, Lu Ten called all the warriors to a meeting. "I want to send the able warriors out to help with the war. I will stay and resume my duties as chief. I will not force anyone to go, but the recent invasion has opened my eyes to the reality of this war. We need to help."

Every warrior agreed to go. The only one that would be left behind would be Lu Ten himself, but someone needed to take care of the tribe. The remainder of the village stood at the docks, watching as the warriors' ships sailed away.

**A/N: The sentence at the end of the funeral is in Chinese and translates to "May the way of the spirits of the past guide you, may you never see pain in the world beyond, and may you watch other those close to you until you can see them again. Rest in peace." I cried when I wrote this part. At first I thought of making it so Kya never died, but I'm already allowing Lu Ten to live and I didn't want to change the original plot that much. Make sure you review!**


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